Webinar #AfricaEsNoticia: "Mali, golpe de Estado en el corazón del Sahel"

24th September, 2020, at 11.00 hours (Canary Island time) via the Casa África social networks

Casa África is organizing this webinar to shed a little more light on the reality in the Sahel and specifically in Mali, following the coup d'état which took place on 18^th August, putting all Western Africa on alert. On this day, following a well organized  movement, a group of top Mali militia detained the President of the Republic, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and other key authorities from his government and obtained the public resignation of the Executive and dissolution of the national Parliament. Since then, a military committee has been in charge of the transition to civilian government. Regional and foreign organisms have taken part in all kinds of co-operation with Mali in order to ensure that the transition runs smoothly.

Over the last few weeks, a series of sanctions against the country have been organized, together with political actions designed to promote democracy and safety within this volatile atmosphere. The population had already shown signs of being tired of the  corruption, insecurity and inefficiency shown by the government regarding the challenges the country faces. Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world and this situation has forced international organizations to take a stance with regards to negotiating a guaranteed transition process, whilst at the same time, they have expressed concern at the expansion of Yihadism in the region. Confusion and uncertainty reign. Add to all this the presence of Coronavirus in the context of Western Africa, where the elections in Guinea and the Ivory Coast have been tinged with controversy.

To analyze this complex series of events and circumstances, the following guest speakers will be present:

• Beatriz Mesa, correspondent for the COPE radio station in Morocco and professor at the University of Rabat, specialist in the Sahel region.

• José Naranjo, correspondent for El País in Africa, who covered the war in Mali at that time and is still informing about this country on diverse MSM.

• Oriol Puig, researcher for the CIDOB and journalist, also specializing in the Sahel.

• Intervention of experts will be made by means of short videos analyzing matters such as social discontent against the government prior to the coup; the transition process; the role of political Islam in Mali: the impact of the coup on security and the reaction of regional actors to this situation. The videos will serve to introduce the topics related to the coup which are to be discussed by our three guests.

• The event will also be attended by the new Special Mission Ambassador for the Sahel, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, EU and Co-operation, Pedro Herraiz, as well as the Managing Director of Casa África, José Segura.

The meeting will be broadcast on 24^th September, 2020, at  11.00 h. (Canary Island time) via the social networks of Casa África: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

Article related to the topic on our Blog África Vive: Coup d'Etat in Mali, the heart of the Sahel. Written by José Segura Clavell, Managing Director of Casa África.

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